History 353:
Women in American Culture and Society through 1865
Fall 2011: Tues-Thurs, 1:15-2:30, Clark 210
Renée M. Sentilles
Office address: 206 Mather House
office hours: T TH 2:30-4; Wed 12:30-1:30, and by appointment.
Phone: X5413
RMS30@case.edu
This is a multicultural course on American women’s history from the age of
European contact through the end of the Civil War. We will begin by coming to terms
with the various meanings of "gender" and "sex.” In the ensuing weeks, we will examine
how those definitions changed over time and were shaped by class, race, ethnicity,
region, and religion. After the first week, the class will assume a survey approach,
moving chronologically rather than topically.
In an effort to present a comprehensive and compelling class in multicultural
American women’s history, the syllabus for this class is complicated. Some days I will
lecture. On other days, we will have discussion. Regardless of the format, most days
have required readings and they are broken into three basic forms: survey texts (Dumenil
and Debois; Hine and Thompson), articles (secondary source), and documents (primary
source).
Objectives:
By the end of this course students should know the overall chronology, key
events, themes and underlying patterns characterizing American women's history up to
1865. They should be familiar with current debates in the study of gender, sexuality,
women and the family. Students should demonstrate improved writing, discussion,
reading, research and analytic skills.
Prerequisites for the course: There are no course prereq.s for this course, but I do expect
students to be familiar with American history.
Grading: For the semester grade, I will be using the CWRU grading system of A, B, C,
D, F. Otherwise, I will use a numeric scale.
Accommodations: I am interested in meeting with students with disabilities who are
registered with the Coordinator of Disability Services (X5230), who may need individual
arrangements.
Meeting one-on-one: I urge you to come by during my office hours to discuss your
papers and plans for the course. If my office hours do not work with your schedule then
we can set up an appointment. Do not miss an appointment! It will count as a class
absence.
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Assignments
Undergraduate assignments:
One exam: worth 30% of final grade.
Paper on American Jezebel 20%
Paper on domesticity, industrialism, or slavery 20%
Journal writing: Students will keep journals for SEVEN WEEKS.
Suggested topics are noted for each day, but students should feel free to address
topics of their choice as long as they engage similar material. 20%
Students are allowed to continue journal writing for the rest of the
semester for possible extra credit.
Participation: 10%
Attendance: NOTE that attendance is mandatory. Absences will affect
your semester grade.
Graduate Student assignments:
Extra Credit:
No Extensions, absences, late papers, or emailed/faxed papers.
Yes, there are exceptions to these rules. Just use your head about when is the right time
to ask.
My contract with you:
As your professor, it is my job to convey information, help you work on skills
relevant to the historical discipline, and to encourage your intellectual growth. I will not
hold classes over the designated time limit, nor add extra assignments or class meetings.
I will make time to meet with you if you need it, whether it is by appointment or during
office hours.
Required Texts:
Ellen Carol Dubois and Lynn Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes
Eve LaPlante, American Jezebel
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson, A Shining Thread of Hope
Notes on Reading:
Students are required to engage the material. For some of you this may mean
reading every word, for others it may mean reading "objectively"--with a pencil and
paper in hand, taking notes, but not reading everything in entirety. My requirements are
that you 1) understand and critique the arguments made in secondary readings 2) can take
a "historian's" approach to the primary documents—that you read them to enhance both
your understanding and your ability to critique lectures and secondary readings.
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Week one: Ways of thinking and writing about women’s pasts.
August 30 : Introduction to the Course: go over syllabus, timelines, and discuss
terminology.
Suggested journal topic: Read the article and explore why a women’s history
museum appears to be so controversial.
Sept 1 : The field of American Women’s History and Concepts of Womanhood
Reading: Kerber and De Hart, “Gender and the New Women’s History” on
Blackboard [hereafter B].
Journal suggestion: Explore your thoughts/feelings about the subject of gender.
Some concepts to consider: power, race, class, age, spectrum, oppositional….
Week Two: Colonial Frontiers
September 6: gender frontiers: Europeans and Native Americans
Read: Dubois and Dumenil, pp. 2-14, 38-49.
Journal suggestion: Have you experienced times when you felt you were
confronting different understandings of gender (masculinity and/or femininity) than those
that rule your world? If so, discuss the circumstances and how it felt or what you
thought. If not, why not? And where could you go now to have that experience?
September 8 : Race and Slavery and “levels of unfreedom.”
Journals due! They should address readings up through Sept. 8.
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 15-24, and ads from the Virginia Gazette, 56-57;
Hine and Thompson, “A New and Alien World.”
Journal suggestion: What is your knowledge of slavery in this country—where does it
come from? What is the major difference between women’s history of enslavement and
general history of enslavement?
Week Three: Colonial Households
September 13: New England colonies.
Reading: Eve Laplante, American Jezebel, up to 157; also Dubois and Dumenil, 24-37.
Journal suggestion: Does the view of women’s experiences in the N.E. colonies
challenge or support your previous knowledge of life in this time and place?
September 15 : Finish discussion on Hutchinson
Reading: Eve LaPlante, American Jezebel, 158-end.
Week Four: Revolution
September 20: Women and Revolution
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 70-96, 110-118.
Journal suggestion: How do you see wars challenging and/or confirming gender
politics?
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September 22: Paper on American Jezebel Due! Judith Sarget Murray and
Republican Motherhood
Reading: , and Judith Sargent Murray, “Observations of Female Abilities” in
Dubois and Dumenil, 127-130. Hine and Thompson, “Tale of Three Cities.”
Journal suggestion: What is the central argument of Republican motherhood and
why is it so revolutionary?
Week Five: Early Households
September 27 : Film: “A Midwife’s Tale”
Reading: sample chapter from A Midwife’s Tale, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (B).
Journal suggestion: respond to issues raised in the movie. How did seeing a reenactment of early Republican life change or confirm your image of the period?
September 29: Household labor and Great Awakening. Journals due!
Reading Dubois and Dumenil, 96-101; and Ruth Schwartz Cowan, chapters from More
Work for Mother (B).
Week Six: New Nation
October 4: Wage labor
Reading : Dubois and Dumenil, 136-154.
Journal suggestion: Why is it significant that women began to strike for higher wages
and better working conditions early in the history of women in the industrial workforce?
October 6: Overflow
Week Seven: Home and Work
October 11: Domesticity and Moral Influence:
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 182-189. “Prostitution in New York City,” in
Dubois and Dumenil, 169-174
Journal suggestion: Why was prostitution such a well-founded form of business?
Why was it one of the first “social ills” addressed by women’s reform groups? Why is
the topic important to nineteenth century American women’s history?
October 13: North and South
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 154-178; Paula Baker, “Domestication of Politics” (B)
Journal suggestion: the gulf between the lives of northern women and southern
women is widening. What do you see as the principle reasons for this division?
Week Eight: Women’s Rights and Abolition
Oct. 18: First half of “Not for Ourselves Alone”
FINAL JOURNALS DUE
Journal suggestion: Respond to the movie. What do you believe you will
remember about this film long after this class is behind you?
October 19: Nightime film showing to finish the movie, 6-8 pm, 100 MH
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Oct.20 : discuss women’s rights and abolition
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 213-228.
Journal suggestion: If, as an activist, you were forced by Amendment 14 to make
a choice about where to put your time and effort, what would you have chosen to do?
Week Nine: Women in the West
Oct. 25: Fall Break—no class! Enjoy
October 27: First discussion of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Reading: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “Intro,” chapters 1-10.
Journal suggestion: How does the character of Uncle Tom confirm or challenge
the popular notion of “Uncle Tom.”
Week Ten:
November 1: Women in the Trans-Mississippi West
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, 202-213; Amelia Stewart Knight (B)
November 3: overflow
Week Eleven:
November 8: Exam on material as indicated in the study guide.
November 10: In class film: “The West,” part of episode two
Week Twelve:
November 15 : Second discussion of UTC
Reading: chapters 10-20.
November 17 : Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Reading: Incidents, first half.
Journal: What might you have done in the place of Harriet Jacobs? Why does
she take such pains to emphasize her chastity given the choices she makes?
Week Thirteen: Thanksgiving Break –NO CLASS
Week Fourteen:
November 29: Discussion of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Reading: second half of Incidents.
Journal: How do you see color (degree of pigment in skin) as affecting the lives
of slaves in both Incidents and UTC?
December 1: Women and Civil War
Reading: Dubois and Dumenil, p. 228-235.
Journal suggestion: Why is the Civil War sometimes referred to as the “woman’s
war?”
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Week Fifteen:
December 6: On the battlefront
Readings: Selection Uncommon Soldier.
December 8: War’s end.
Journal suggestion: Have your views on women’s experience in America
changed because of this course? If so, how? If not, why not?
Paper due on industrialism, slavery, or domesticity. Journals also due for extra credit.
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Assignments
Exam: The exam is designed to help you put the rather fluid narrative into concrete and
memorable terms. Please see study guide.
Journals:
Each student will keep a journal in a notebook used exclusively for this
assignment. The journal is intended to help you engage materials from class discussions
and readings over the course of the semester. It is also intended to help me understand
your thinking throughout the semester.
You must write ONE entry (2-4 pages) for each DAY of class excepting the days
when the journals are due, as noted in the syllabus. I encourage students to write by hand,
but if you must type, you should have at least 2 double-spaced pages per entry.
I have made suggestions for journal topics for each day, but these are only
suggestions. Feel free to address what you will as long as you engage the material we
are covering in class. I will let you know if you are wandering too far afield.
Above all, think critically about what you read and hear. What are an author’s
strengths and weaknesses? How did issues raised in class challenge or confirm your own
interpretation of an article or document? How do class discussions relate to issues of
importance today?
IMPORTANT: summaries of readings will not count! If you find yourself
summarizing, you’d better clarify why you’ve done so and how it moves your thinking
forward, or you will receive a zero for that entry.
You will hand in your journal as indicated on the syllabus.
EXTRA CREDIT: Students wishing to earn up to five extra credit points may do
so by continuing to keep the journal through the last week of classes.
Paper on Eva LaPlante, American Jezebel, due Sept 22.
On page 116, LaPlante writes “There was and is no written account of most women’s
lives then, save their birth, marriage, and death dates, usually in parish records. Land
deeds were signed only by husbands and, eventually, sons. Practically every historical
document of the period was written by a man, quoting his or another man’s words. In the
paper record of early America, it is almost as though women did not exist.”
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Given that situation, is the trial transcript of Anne Hutchinson a useful means of coming
to understand the expectations and/or experiences of early American women. Why or
why not?
5-7 pages, double-spaced.
Please feel free to reference Through Women’s Eyes and/or A Shining Thread of Hope, as
well as LaPlante.
Citations for LaPlante should be as follows:
First citation, use a notation and footnote or endnote(example1).
All subsequent citations will appear parenthetically before the period: (LaPlante, 37).
Paper on Domesticity, Industrialism or Slavery, due December 8.
The ideology of domesticity (itself the product of industrialism, separate spheres,
and the 2nd Great Awakening), Industrialism (a northern, urban system treated as
universal in the written world) and slavery (that directly determined the lives of women
in 15 states, but was often seen as incidental to the mass culture) are all major phenomena
that shaped the lives of women in the nineteenth century. Using any readings of the
course, write a historical essay examining one facet of how one of these realities
functioned. We will discuss this in class, as the topic should be determined by the
questions each student raises for him or herself in the process of keeping journals, class
discussions, and reading.
Your essay should be roughly 8 pages, use footnotes, and have a bibliography and
title page.
1
Eve LaPlante, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, The Woman Who Defied the
Puritans (New York: Harper Collins, 204), 16. All further references will be from this edition and shall be
cited parenthetically within the text.
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